Ephraim Longworth (2 October 1887 – 7 January 1968) was an

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

international footballer for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the early part of the twentieth century. He was one of Liverpool's all-time greats, and was Liverpool's first ever

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Life and playing career

Longworth, born in Halliwell,

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England, noted for his lock of hair, was comfortable in either the right or left-back berths. He joined

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in the first division of the Lancashire Combination in 1908 from Hyde and then moved to London, signing for Southern League club

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

. It was here that Liverpool manager Tom Watson spotted his potential and signed him in 1910. He made his debut on 19 September 1910 in a

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game at

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, but Liverpool lost 2–0 to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. Longworth went on to appear 370 times in a Red shirt without scoring a single goal for the

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

club; in fact he went on to play until he was 40 years old. One of Liverpool's all-time greats Ephraim has the distinction of being Liverpool's first ever captain of the England national team, when he was given the job in only his second appearance - a 2–0 against

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at the Oscar Bossaert Stadion,

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in 1921. His debut for the national side was in 1920 and was just as memorable, England fought back from 4-2 down to beat bitter rivals

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5–4 at Hillsborough. Longworth went on to gain 5 international

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, none of which England lost. During his time at

Longworth won back to back league titles in 1921-22 and 1922–23 and appeared in the 1-0 1914 FA Cup Final defeat to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in front of the reigning King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

. Longworth's final game came 17½ years after his first appearance for the club, it came in a 2–0 defeat at

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

against

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on 21 April 1928. After retiring in 1928 Longworth stayed on at Liverpool in a coaching role. Ephraim died in 1968 forever a Liverpool legend. In 2006 despite having been retired for almost 80 years, Longworth was voted in at 72nd place following a survey on Liverpool's website entitled '100 Players which Shook the Kop'.

Career details

*Liverpool F.C. (1910–1928) 371 appearances 2

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

Championship medals ( 1921–22, 1922–23 ), (he played his last game as a 40-year-old) *England (1920–1923) 5 caps (Ephraim also captained his country, the first Liverpool player to do so)

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website
Player profile
at LFChistory.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Longworth, Ephraim 1887 births 1968 deaths England men's international footballers England men's wartime international footballers English men's footballers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff Leyton Orient F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Bolton